Amusement device



Aug. 27, 1929. McBRIDE 1,726,444

AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed July 25, 1928 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE N T'OR dossPu M BRIDE vwmz HTTORNE Y5 Aug. 27, 1929- J. MCBRIDE.

AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed July 25, 1928 v 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR JOSEPH MCBRIDE ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 27, 1929.

' UNITED STATES.

PATENT 'o-Frre-E.

JdSEPHMcBBIDE, or VANCQUVER, B ITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. 7 I

AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

' Application filed m 25,

whereby they may each propel a'toy ship.

from one shore to the other'by means of controls situated adjacent the "edge of said tank, as will be more fullydescribed in the following specification and shownin the accompanying'drawings, in which Fig. 1 is alongitudinal section: of the invention taken'on theline 1-1 of Figure 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view. I j Fig. 3 is a tranverse sectionaliviewtaken on the line 33 of Figure2. 1

Figs. 4 and 5. are detail views :showing the submerged track and carriage.

Fig. 6 is-a view showing the operating connection between the carriage and a-ship.

Fig. 7 is a modified form of said; con; nection. a :1

In the drawings like. characters of :reference indicate corresponding parts: in each. figure. i a i I The numeral 1 indicates a relatively shals low tank set at a height above floorhlevel convenient to'the players, said tank having a bottom wall 2,;side walls 3 and end walls t. Extending upwards from the bottom wall 2 is a plurality. of supports .5 eachof which are surmounted with an islandti; I

Extending longitudinally o f-the lILDk'iS'. a plurality of submerged tracks 7 ;see Figures 4 and 5, consisting of a metaIIicMU- shaped channel section 8 having its upper extremities outwardly turned to form a pair of rails 9. The ends of the tracks 7 are fitted with sheaves 10 having an aperture 11 through which access is obtained to the channel 8, the purpose of which will hereinafter appear. Stops 12 are secured to the bottom wall 2 of the tank for the purpose of preventing the endwise movement of the tracks within the tank. The sheaves 10 are permitted to have a rolling contact with the bottom Wall 2 of the tank as shown in Figure 6.

Journalled upon brackets 13 carried 'on 1928. Serial No. 295,175.

One .or both end walls ofithe tank is 5pm,. f 1

'rality of steering shaftsll/t each having a steering wheel 15 atiits. outerend and a sheave 16 at its inner end. wAna endless cord 17 extends between oneofithe sheaves 16 and'onelofthe sheaives 1010f a.v track. 7 ,1 so.

that as the steering-wheel 15. is turnedthe coresponding track .7 is rocked in a similar' directions. Fitted below the. transverse centre of the tank. 1*is a stationaryshaft 18 upon which a plurality of independently movable arms 19 are swingable. These arms each have an upwardfiextension 20' opera-H tively connected by a rod 21 -to the lower extremity. of a hand lever 22, as' air-23, so

that as [the lever is pulled in one direction byarplaye'r its arm. 19% is swung in anroprposite dlIGCtlOIL A dash pot 24 of any suit? abletype is. interposed between the. lever 22 anda: stationary part ofthedevice: for: the purpose of retarding the swing'iofl the arm 19. An ,arcua-te' member 25. is provided" for each arm' 19'Whichqcarries a plurality of rollers 26 for, the purposeof fomningav guide for a light -cable-- 2 v The cable 27; extends inopposite directions 7 from the outer end of the 3111111119 about the rollers 26, up and over suitable sheaves- 28@ on the upper edge of the endwalls 4 thencedownwards insidet-he tank 1 around sheaves 29 through the apertures 11=of the sheaves I lO-and alongv the channeLB, the ends'ofthe; .cable being; secured to" opposite ends 'of a carriage 130. A The carriage. 3,0.consists of at T-shaped frame having awveb. 31 and a plat formv32 in which rollers 33 and 3 4 arefitted, therollers 33 beingadaptedtoride uponithe sidewalls of the channela8va-nd; the rollers 34 to ride upon-therails 9ithereofa Secured: to each carriage 30; is aimast 35. havingqatitsupper end a socket' 36 which isadapted to. swing transversely 0nly, andi the socket is adapted to; receive a light {red 37. "havingv afloat-3 8ifladjacentitssnpper extremity which has a buoyancy slightly in excess of that re quired to float its rod.

. The numeral 39 indicates a ship fitted with a depending sleeve 40 adjacent its bow, which sleeve is adapted to fit loosely over the upper end of the rod 37 that it may be easily detached therefrom in the event of incorrect manipulation of the device.

In the modification shown in Figure 7 the mast 35 is formed of spring wire, having the rod 37 Having thus described the several parts of u my invention I will now briefly explain its (mode of operation.

Each player selects a ship and stations himself adjacent the corresponding controls- Eachv ship is presumed to be adjacent the controls priorto. starting. As a player pulls the upper end of his-lever 22 away from the tank the corresponding arm 19 is moved about the shaft 18 and the cable 27 is drawn to impart endwise movement to its, carriage 30, and through its mast and the rod '37 to cause the ship '39 to travel outwards to the opposite end of the tank. Ascertain islands 6 are in the path of the ship it will obviously be necessary to alter its course to avoid them, so that by turning the steering wheel 15 to right or leftas occasion demands,

the track 7 and its carriage 30 are rocked, thus inclining the mast 85 and moving the rod 37 transversely of the tank and drawing the ship in a corresponding direction away from the longitudinal axis of the track 7. 1f the steering wheel is turned too quickly for the ship to respond to the turningmovement, the rod 37 will become disengaged from the socket 36 or from the sleeve 40 of the ship,hence all. control of its movement will be lost. If, however, the steering movement is performed with due caution, the ship will move slowly and upon a substantially even keel to avoid all obstacles as it is drawn 1 from one end of the tank to the other.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An amusement device comprising a tank of water and a vessel, and manually operated means associated with the tank for propelling the vessel upon the surface of the water,said means being controllable to cause the vessel to follow either a straight man irregular path at the will of the operator.

2. An amusement device comprising a tank of water and a vessel,a track below the surface of the water, a carriage movable along the track, means connecting the vessel to the carriage, and manually operable means for moving the carriage along the track, said means including provision for causing the vessel to follow. either a straight or an in regular path at the will, of the operator.

3. An, amusement device comprising a tank of water and a vessel, a track below the surface of the water defining a normal path of travel for the vessel, a carriage upon the track, means'of connection between the carriage and the vessel, manually operable means for moving the carriage along the track for propelling the vessel, and means for, diverting the vessel from its normal'path of travel. 1 ,4. An amusement device comprising a tank of water and a vessel, a rockingly mounted track below the water level, a can riage adapted to be manually vmoved along the track, connecting means between the carriage and the vessel, and means for rocking the track, and means as the track is rocked beyond a predetermined speed for disconnectingthe vessel from the carriage.

5; An amusement device comprising a tank of water and a vessel, a carriageadapted to be moved along a given path below the water level by manually operable means, means fordetachably connecting the vessel. to the carriage, an obstruction overlying the said path, and means as said obstruction is encountered'by the vessel for disconnecting said vessel from the carriage.

' 6. An amusement device comprising atank 1 the track and connected to the vessel, means for moving the carriage along the track to cause the vessel to travel across the tank, and means for adjusting the position of the track to cause the vessel to follow either a straight or an irregular course in travelling across the tank.

Dated at Vancouver, B. C. this 13th day of July, 1928.

JOSEPH MoBRIDE. 

